Improvement in cigar-machines



'GEORGE B. CLARKE,

or NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN czlGAR-MAel-lirnas.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 89,200, dated April 20,1869.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE B. CLARKE, of thecity, county, and State of N ew York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Cigar-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,fornr ing part of this specification, and in which- Figure l representsa plan of a cigar-making machine with the top roller removed; Fig. 2, avertical section of the same, taken as indicated bythe line w w in Fig.l; and Fig. 3, a longitudinal view of one of the rollers used in saidmachine detached. Fig. et is a diagram in illustration of the cut madein the wrapper in finishing off the head of the cigar.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts.

My invention consists in a novel combination of mechanism for makingcigars, embracing a certain arrangement of forming-rollers having, orcertain of them, trumpet-shaped portions at theirone end; also, anindependent connection of such trumpet-shaped portions ,with the bodiesof the rollers; knives for shaping the wrapper to t the head of thecigar, and for turning o the butt-end thereof 5 also, a certainadjustable arrangement of certain of the rollers for facilitating theentry of the filling and delivery of the cigar as it is made.

In the accompanying drawings, A is the frame of the machine, and B thetable, on or over which the wrapper is fed.

C Cl G2 C3 are horizontal rollers, all arranged to rotate in the samedirection, and driven by one and the same shaft, D, through a pinion onsaid shaft, arranged to gear with a pinion, a., on the spindle s of eachroller.

The front roller, C, is carried at or near each end of its spindle by aswinging frame, E, having its fulcrum as at b, and held up to its placeto secure to said roller its working position by a spring, c, and stopd.

The top roller, G1, is similarlyr hung iu a swinging frame, F, havingits fulcrum as at e, and which may be operated by treadle, connectedwith an arm, f, when it is required to throw the top roller up and back.This is done whenever it is required to introduce a new filling, orfilling having a binder on it, between vthe rollers, while the object ofsupporting the front roller, C, in a swinging frame is to facilitate thedelivery ofthe cigar as it is made by swinging or throwing back saidroller, and which may be done by swinging the frame F sufciently far orback to cause an arm, g, connected with the latter, to strike and workan arm, h, carried by the swinging frame E.

When adjusted to their working positions, the several rollers C C C2y G3lie at the requisite distance apart from each other to form a cigar, andhave their bodies of the necessary conguration to give to the inainportion of the cigar its required form, while the head of the cigar hasthe requisite configuration given to it by trumpet-shaped ends t' tothree of the rollers C1 C2 G3. These trumpet portions t' may be madeeither in one piece or in any number of annular sections, and arearranged to turn loose on the spindles of the rollers to which theybelong, to admit of their accommodating themselves in velocityto thevaried speed of the head of the cigar, as compared with its body, byreason of the difference in diameters of such portions ofthe cigar orfilling as the cigar is rotated by the bodies of the several rollersbetween which it lies.

The trumpet portions i of the top and bottom rollers may be extended tomeet at their outer ends, while the trumpet portion of the back rollermay be less extended, and the front roller, C, terminate toward the headof the cigar, where the reduced ends of the trumpetshaped portions ofthe other rollers begin, which arrangement admits of the several rollerslying in proper close proximity to each other; but such arrangement orconstruction of the rollers as regards their trumpet ends or portionsmay be varied, as hereinafter explained. g

The driving-shaftD has fitting loosely within it, so as to be capable ofturning independently of said shaft and of longitudinal play therein, arod, k, round which is Wrapped a spiral spring, Z, bearing at its oneend against the inner end of the shaft D, and secured at its other endto a disk, G, which is arranged to freely rotate on that end ofthe rod kwhich lies farthest from the shaft D. This spring-borne disk serves tobear against the butt-end of the cigar and hold the cigar in place, andas it is hung so as t be capable of independent rotation along with thecigar, the same has no unraveling tendency upon the end thereof.

The tobacco being suitably placed between the rollers, the wrapper isfirst introduced on or over the table B to make its spiral wrap at thebuttend of the cigar, and is fed along till the cigar is wholly wrapped,the rotation of the cigar by the rollers effecting the feed.

In finishing the head end of the cigar, said wrapper has a cut, m, (seediagram, Fig. 4,) made in its inner edge, for the purpose of making thewrapper acturately fit the head ofthe cigar. This out is effectedautomatically by means of a knife, H, of any suitable form on itscutting edge or edges, having a quick reciprocating motion, which may beeffected by a variety of mechanical devices, but is here shown asproduced my means ot' a lever, I, having its fulcrum on the backroller-spindle, and actuated by a revolving cam, J, bearing against orunder a roller, oz, said cam being driven by suitable gear from the mainshaft D, and operating conjointly with a spring, 0, to give to the leverI and knife carried by it their necessary movements.

There is another knife, K, arranged so as to befcapable of being slid orforced by hand against the butt portion of the cigar, which may be doneby means of a sliding rod, r, and button t, a spring, u, serving tothrow the knife back. Said knife serves, by a gentle pressure applied toproject it against the cigar, to turn the butt-end of the cigar offsmoothly, by reason of the rotation of the cigar during such applicationof pressure to the knife. Said knife may have any desired shape at theend where it comes in contact with the cigar, and may pass over thespindle of and be held in place by any one of the four rollers,`or maypass between the rollers to reach the cigar and do its work.

The following advantages and peculiarities, among others, in this myimproved cigar-making machine may be mentioned: Of course, any suitablenumber of rollers may be used, but by three out of the four here shownbeing made trumpet-shaped at their head ends, and the outer ends of thetrumpet portions to the top and bottom rollersbeing made to meet Wherethe extreme point of the head of the cigar comes, they will perfectlyshape the head of the cigar, which shape can be altered by constructingthe trumpet portions of the rollers of any suitable curvature.

Again, by hanging said trumpet portions so that they are loose from therollers and spindles which carry the latter, and free to turnl with orby the cigar, such portions will not draw in the wrapper of the cigarmore rapidly than the cigar can take it onto itself; that, if done,would cause wrinkling, and which the trumpet portions of the rollers, byreason of their increased diameter, would dowere they not detached, asdescribed; but, being detached, such portions will be moved by thewrapper itself', and thus the wrapper be carried in as the cigar cantake it onto itself, to nish the head ofthe cigar. I thus avoid thefriction that is produced by non-revolvin g dies or headers that havebeen used to form and finish the head of the cigar.

Furthermore, the freely-hun g disk G, pressed up in a gentle and easymanner by the spiral spring l, having its bearing against the driving-shaft, but not attached to the latter, will hold the cigar up in itsplace between the trumpet-shaped portions of the rollers withoutproducing friction on the end of the cigar, inasmuch as it receives itsrotary motion from the cigar by its contact with the end of the latter.

Again, the knife or cutter H, arranged at the eXtreme point of the headof the cigar, will.

automatically fashion and cut out the inner edge of the wrapper, so asto make a perfect fit of the latter upon the point of the cigar. Thiscutting out the Wrapper, when done by a knife in the hand of thecigar-maker, either during the making of the cigar or in advance ofplacing the wrapper on the latteras in other machines, is always done atrandom, and makes the proper t of the wrapper upon the end of the cigaruncertain. l

Also, the knife K, arranged near the other end of the cigar, and madecapable of being gradually slid or pressed up into the latter, will, byreason of the-simultaneous rotation .of the cigar, turn or cut oft' theend of the cigar much smoother and better than by forcibly cuttingthrough the cigar under a stationary condition of the latter. When thewrapper has completely covered the head of the cigar, the trumpet ordetached portions of one or more of the rollers may be temporarily heldfrom turning, or made stationary by any suitable means, as, forinstance, by a key passed endwise from the outside into lock with suchportion or portions, so that the wrapper on the head of the cigar may bepressed and rolled more smoothly to give it finish or polish.

The front and back rollers, C G2, may, if it be thought advisable, bemade trumpet-sh aped to the full length and size of the top and bottomrollers, and then such portions of them as would impin ge upon the topand bottom rollers be cut out to the shape of said rollers, therebycausing the trumpet portions of the front and back rollers to bestationary, and to bind upon and smooth the head of the cigar to itsextreme end during the entire time of making the cigar.

Lastly, the knife at the extreme point of the head ofthe cigar may, ifdesired, be of V shape, with two inner cutting-edges, or be of any othersuitable form, and operated in any desired manner.

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with the table B, of the rollers C O1 G2 G3,arranged, substantially as described, for rotation in like directions,and formed, any or allof them,with trumpet-shaped extremities at theirone end, essentially as specified.

' 2. The trumpet-shaped portions t', arranged to turn freely andindependently of the rollers to which they belong, substantially as andfor the purpose herein set forth.

3. The combination of the automatically-0perating knife H with theseveral ci gar-forming rollers, and arranged in relation thereto or tothe trumpet-shaped portions thereof, essentially as and for the purposespecified.

4. In combination with the forming-rollers, driven to rotate the cigar,as described, the knife K, adjustable in relation t0 said rollers or tothe cigar in between them, substantially as herein set forth.

5. The combination,wth the rollers C G2 G3, of the upper roller, C1,bung in a swinging frame, F, essentially as specified.

GEO. B. CLARKE.

Witnesses:

JOHN D. RIssET, HENRY PALMER.

